Our researchers lead on major research projects funded by national and international agencies. This includes the UK Research Innovation (UKRI), the European Commission (Horizon and ERC), the British Academy, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHC). We also hold funding from a diverse portfolio of national charities and professional bodies (including the RTPI and RICS). Through these projects, we deliver major societal impacts and benefits, shaping local, national policy and international calls for action.
Explore our research projects
Adaptable Cities, Pandemic Mitigation and Crisis Preparedness
This 18 months project funded by the British Academy is part of the Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons to Learn from COVID-19 across the G7 Programme.
Appealing Design: The evidence of planning appeals
This landmark study provided evidence that planning authorities need to confidently pursue their local design aspirations as a full and integral part of their planning mission.
South Africa Planning Education Research
This research focused on the needs and challenges faced by planning practitioners and the wider implications with regard to the internationalisation of planning education.
Delivering New Social and Affordable Housing in Rural Areas: A Review of Barriers and Opportunities
This project looks at the barriers to social and affordable housing delivery in rural parts of Northern Ireland using stakeholder interviews to understand those barriers and identify solutions.
Department for Levelling-up, Housing and Communities
A government-funded pilot programme to test aspects of the process and content of the NMDC, how it might be applied to different contexts, and the use of design coding in the current planning system.
The Design Deficit
This new project looked again at the question of urban design skills in local authorities across England.
Home Comforts
This report looked at the design quality of our home environments, neighbourhoods and our sense of community during the Covid-19 lockdown.
A Housing Design Audit for England
This audit evaluated the design of 142 large-scale housing-led development projects across England, establishing a new baseline to measure progress on housing design quality in the future.
PANEX-YOUTH
Adaptations of young people in monetary-poor households for surviving and recovering from COVID-19 and associated lockdowns.
ReHousIn: Contextualized pathways to reduce housing inequalities in the green and digital transition
This project seeks to understand the impacts of recent crises on housing inequalities across Europe, with a focus on the implementation of the green transition launched by the European Union.
Rethinking China’s urban governance
This project helps to recommend how China should change its development model and how the outside world should help China to address its immense challenges from urbanisation.
UCL Permitted Development Housing Study
Investigating Potential Health Impacts Of Planning Deregulation: The Case Of Permitted Development In England.
Urban Maestro: New Governance Strategies for Urban Design
A joint initiative of the United Nations Human Settlement programme (UN-Habitat), University College London (UCL) and the Brussels Bouwmeester Maître Architecte (BMA).
Walkable Urban Neighbourhoods (WalkUrban)
Freeing up Potential for Sustainable and Active Travel by Improving Walking and its Connections with Public Transport.
What is Governed in Cities (WHIG)
Residential Investment Landscapes and the Governance and Regulation of Housing Production.